Thilawa of Yamethin

  • Thilawa of Yamethin
  • ရမည်းသင်း သီလဝ
A 21st century illustration
Governor of Yamethin
Reignc. 1351 – 1395/96
PredecessorSwa Saw Ke
SuccessorMaha Pyauk
King
Bornc. 1330
Died
  • 1395/96
  • 757 ME

Yamethin
SpouseSaw Pale
Issue
HousePinya
ReligionTheravada Buddhism

Thilawa (Burmese: သီလဝ, pronounced [θìləwa̰]; d. 1395/96) was governor of Yamethin in the late Pinya period and early Ava period of Myanmar. He is best remembered in Burmese history as someone who smiled only three times in his life. The taciturn governor refused the court's offer to become king in 1367, and instead became one of the four top commanders of the eventual king, Swa Saw Ke. He served in the war against the southern Hanthawaddy Kingdom between 1386 and 1391, and decisively defeated the 1392–93 invasion by the northern state of Mohnyin.